Senior Session | Indianapolis, IN | August 2017

It’s beyond time we got caught up on blog posts from a year of incredible sessions and weddings! So to get the ball rolling, naturally, we turn to family. ❤ It’s impossible to fathom that Kendall (Simone’s baby cousin — check out the end of this post for a throwback photo!) is about to graduate and move on to college and everything beyond! We had a lovely summer day for our session at Cardinal Ritter & Marian University, and Kendall is a natural in front of the camera. Sharing this session now, just makes us even more excited to get back to the Midwest this summer. Congratulations Kendall — we can’t wait to see what you accomplish next. 🙂

~ Throwback ~

That’s Kendall in the front circa 2010! Also pictured are Simone & her two brothers.

Mini Session | Winter Park, FL | November 2016

Mini sessions this fall have been so good to me so far! Meeting this family has definitely been one of the highlights; their two littles were so full of energy and curiosity that I got plenty of splendid candid shots. Their session was also particularly sweet since it was the first time they’d had family photos taken since dad came back from overseas. ❤ I only hope they’re as in love with these images as I am!

Newborn Session | Indianapolis, IN | November 2016

Brittany and Colten had one of my favorite wedding days — gorgeous weather, a laid back bridal party, and a fun and heartfelt reception. So it’s no surprise that I was instantly smitten with their darling little girl. Baby Jane is going to have plenty of personality and no shortage of loving family all around her as she grows up. She was a total trooper through our session, and I can’t wait to see how much she’ll have changed by the next time I see this sweet family.

Senior Session | Class of 2017 | Mount Pleasant, MI | June 2016

Part of this gorgeous summer was even more stunning thanks to this beauty! Jacquelin was incredibly easy to work with and tolerated all of my crazy suggestions — “give yourself a hug, lie down on this log, look thoughtfully off into the distance” — so graciously. I’m excited to watch where this lady goes next, and I can only hope I’ll be able to get her back in front of my camera again soon. Congratulations and here’s to a fantastic senior year!

Anniversary Session | Blanchard, MI | June 2016

Sessions with past wedding couples are one of my favorite things. Weddings are magical and beautiful, but taking time to do an anniversary session a year after the big day can be a chance for a more relaxed experience. I love that an anniversary shoot is also an opportunity for a couple to reconnect and reminisce about their first year or marriage. These two were such a treat on their lovely wedding day AND during our twilight summer session. What a treat to see both their little family and their beautiful relationship growing month by month!

Family Session | Indianapolis, IN | June 2016

There was so much to love about this session: seeing a gorgeous family who’s grown to three kids since I first met them years ago, a perfect summer sky, one of my favorite Indianapolis locations, and plenty of duck watching and fish spotting to go around. Mom and dad have their hands full with these three cuties in the best way possible — there’s no shortage of energy and excitement with these kiddos. And what fun they are! I’m so happy I had the opportunity to capture just a little bit of this story, and I can’t wait to see how the Megels continue to grow and adventure together in the future.

Today’s post is a reposting from Anna over at Life With the Champions. Anna’s lifestyle and wedding blog is fantastic, and when she shared this guest post from her own photographer, Amy Carroll, I knew we had to share it with all of you! So without further ado here are,

But please don’t send us a board filled with other people’s work. As a photographer, I absolutely want to know your style, your aesthetic and the overall feel of your wedding day. (In fact, I request it in my final meeting with you.) But it can be soul-crushing to receive a board of pictures, filled with other photographers’ visions for their clients. My hope is that my clients have hired me for my vision and creativity and I want to bring that to their wedding day.

Timing is everything.

And by that I mean time of day. Those pretty, glowy pictures? They don’t happen at noon. The best time for portraits is early in the morning or later into the day. Harsh light on a sunny day can take away from even the prettiest of locations. As photographers, we are constantly looking for the best light. If you have all of your outdoor pictures scheduled for 1 pm, we inwardly cringe wondering if we will be able to find a shaded area so that the lighting won’t be too harsh. Work with your photographer and talk about timing for family portraits, a first look if you decide to do one, and other shots. We are happy to help chat about the timeline for the day to ensure enough time for pictures and to work with the best light.

Speaking of light.

One of my favorite parts of the day is capturing the process of a bride getting ready for her wedding day. Unless it’s in a windowless room with a lot of clutter. I absolutely know that sometimes a pretty getting ready area is out of the bride’s control (and I work with what I have) but thinking about how you might like those images to look can really help the final outcome.

Let’s talk about Photoshop.

Yes, Photoshop is a great tool for both photographer and our clients who receive their final images. However, when your bridesmaid asks me to Photoshop out all of her tan lines or your sweet aunt asks me to help her “lose a few pounds” in the pictures, it puts me in an awkward predicament. We want everyone to feel great in the final picture but it’s not realistic in any way to Photoshop each file or just push a magic button to “fix” anything that might be less than perfect. I am always happy to fix an image that might be printed for a wall hanging or album, but if we could all unlearn the term “just Photoshop it,” many of us would breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Timing really is everything.

Determining a timeline for the wedding day is likely one of the hardest parts of the planning process. Logistics can be tricky and there is a lot to fit into a wedding day. I always appreciate being asked for help and am happy to give it when discussing the timing of a wedding day. If you are not doing a first look (which is absolutely your decision…I never try to force one if your vision is to have that first look be down the aisle), be aware that trying to get all of the family pictures, all of the wedding party pictures, and the pictures of the two of you is hard to fit into just an hour–especially if we are traveling from a ceremony location to the reception. Do you want to be a part of your cocktail hour? Considering a first look on your wedding day does allow for a more relaxed schedule and can give you the chance to mingle with your guests and enjoy a drink and the hor d’oeurves you so carefully selected. Also, pad your wedding day timeline. Makeup appointments run late. Getting to and from locations usually takes longer than you plan for. Large wedding parties can often be hard to corral together.

Keep your photographer in the loop about family drama.

When thinking about your family portraits on your wedding day, please let us know if there are any uncomfortable situations that might be awkward as we put family members together for pictures. If there was a messy divorce or family members who are uncomfortable being in the same room together, please let us know so that we can handle that delicately. Or, if your sibling has a long term partner/significant other and you aren’t sure you want them in your portraits, we are happy to help handle those situations so you aren’t put in an uncomfortable spot on your wedding day.

Trust us.

Trust is key in any good relationship. If you love your photographer, trust him or her. We often have a vision and even though it may be hard to see it, we are usually capturing something quite lovely. There are many times we are in a location and we see some ray of light, wonderful background, or pretty vista that we steer you toward. Trust the process and your photographer. Along the same note, remember that we are looking for lighting just as much as pretty backgrounds so if we don’t put you on that bridge you love at 1 p.m., it may be because the lighting at that time just isn’t perfect and won’t result in the image you imagine.

Everyone is a photographer.

And by that I mean most of us carry around iPhones and cameras and when we are at a friend or family member’s wedding, it’s completely natural to want to capture some pictures, too. And I totally get it. Especially as more and more couples incorporate a custom hashtag with their wedding so that everyone can share candid shots from the day. I actually love this and also participate throughout the day by putting a few shots on Instagram and all of the social media channels during the wedding day. It’s fun and as a bride and groom, how lovely to see instant shots of people having fun at your wedding! What isn’t fun is having 20 iPhones hanging out the aisle as I’m getting a picture of your newly married selves walking down the aisle. Or as I’m taking family portraits, having eight family members behind me also snapping pictures and nobody quite knows where to look. I am happy to allow photographs during the day, but the person you hired to take those pictures should take priority and relaying that helps set expectations.

We aren’t robots.

Robots don’t have to eat. Your wedding vendors do. When we have been working all day long, typically with very little downtime, we need to sit down and refuel at some point. It’s a natural break for us to eat at the same time as your guests, especially as nobody likes having pictures taken while they are putting filet mignon into their mouths. Talking to your venue ahead of time to make sure your photographers (and any other vendors that have been working with you all day) have a meal is always appreciated. A bonus is if we can be served at the same time, as we often get our meals served dead last which means the bride and groom are likely already done eating and we have to start photographing dances and cake cuttings. Sometimes we never even get to eat our meal. A fed photographer is a happy photographer.

Weather happens.

We are never surprised by this. We are sad if you can’t have the outdoor ceremony that you imagined, but we are also well adept at handling tricky weather situations. Buy umbrellas (you can always return them if you don’t use them), bring rain boots and embrace the elements. Some of my very favorite pictures ever have happened when Mother Nature threw us a curve ball. And if it’s cloudy? We are doing a happy dance as that is some of the most flattering light you can have in your pictures.